Diamondback Firearms of Cocoa, Florida has
been in the semi-automatic pistol market for a few years now,
producing their subcompact 380
and 9mm pistols, which we have
reviewed here, as well as entering the AR-15 style rifle and
pistol market a couple of years ago. Now, they have jumped into
the full-sized semi-auto pistol market with their DBFS Nine. The
new pistol enters a market that is already crowded with
excellent pistols from Ruger, Glock, S&W, Springfield,
Walther, Sig, HK, CZ, FNH, and a few others who are producing
quality polymer-framed pistols that covers every need and want a
person could have when selecting such a pistol.

The DBFS Nine looks similar to other
full-sized pistols of its type, yet has a unique look that
shooters either love or hate. There seems to be no middle ground
on the aesthetics of the pistol. I have even seen comments
referring to the DBFS as "ugly". However, if one is
looking for classic beauty in a handgun, the polymer pistol
class in general is no place to search. Polymer pistols are, in
general, cold and dull. Very few people would send off a Glock
or a XD to Doug Turnbull
for engraving and case-coloring. They are just not that kind of
pistol. Plastic duty guns are tools, and they work well, but
will never win a beauty contest with a quality 1911 or Browning
Hi Power. They are tools, and as tools shall they be judged.

The DBFS Nine contains features that are
recognizable from other popular pistols, such as the Glock-style
disassembly latch and a cocking indicator as found on the XD
pistols. To my hand, the grip feels similar to the S&W
M&P, and the Nine has the blade insert trigger safety, as
found on other similar pistols. When I ran across the DBFS Nine
online, two things immediately caught my attention; the way in
which the pistol sits low in the hand, and the low price.

The DBFS Nine is a striker-fired
polymer-framed pistol. The weapon has no external manual safety,
but incorporates the blade-in-trigger safety, which I never
really did understand the usefulness of such, and it also has an
internal striker-block safety, which prevents the pistol from
firing if dropped. The trigger has to be pressed for the weapon
to fire, so the main safety, as always, is between the shooter's
ears. The trigger pull is similar, again, to that of the Glock.
The pull feels heavy to me, but measures six and one-quarter
pounds resistance on my trigger pull scale. The trigger reset is
short and positive.

Critical
specifications for the DB Nine pistol are listed in the chart
below. Weight is listed in ounces, and includes the empty
magazine. Linear dimensions are listed in inches. Trigger pull
is listed in pounds of resistance, as measured with my Lyman
digital trigger pull scale. Height includes sights and magazine
base with the magazine in place. Maximum width is measured
across the grip frame palm swells.

Chambering

9x19mm

Weight with Empty Magazine

25.1 ounces

Trigger Pull

6.4 pounds

Barrel Length

4.75 inches

Barrel Diameter

0.515 inch

Overall Height

5.55 inches

Overall Length

7.62 inches

Grip Width

1.28 inches

Frame Width

1.06 inches

Slide Width

1 inch

Maximum Width

1.28 inches

Trigger Reach

2.75 inches

Magazine Capacity

15

Magazines Supplied

1

Magazine Disconnect Safety

No

Accessory Rail

1913 Picatinny Spec.

MSRP as of June 2015

$407.00 US

I
fired a variety of ammunition over the chronograph to check
velocities, with the results listed in the chart below.
Velocities are listed in feet-per-second. Bullet weights are
listed in grains. JHP is a jacketed hollowpoint bullet. TAC-XP
is a hollow nose homogenous copper bullet. FP is a frangible,
pre-fragmented flatnose bullet. FMJ is a full metal jacket
roundnose bullet. Velocities were taken at an elevation of 541
feet above sea level, with an air temperature of sixty-seven
degrees Fahrenheit and ninety-three percent humidity. Velocities
were recorded at twelve feet from the muzzle.

A couple of things I noticed while shooting
the Diamondback. One is that the sights are very easy to see
clearly for me. There is visually plenty of room for light on
each side of the front sight for a good sight picture. The
sights are the familiar three-dot pattern, and are made of
steel. Thank you. The second thing I noticed immediately is that
the fifteen-shot steel magazine is one of the most-difficult to
load that I have ever handled. It can be loaded without a
loading tool, but it is much easier and quicker with an UpLULA
magazine loader.

The Diamondback fits my hand very well, and,
as mentioned earlier, the pistol sits very low in the hand,
making for one of the most-comfortable 9x19mm pistols that I
have ever fired. The weapon is not small, but not overly bulky
either, and is very comfortable to carry in a good belt holster.

The Diamondback is a pleasure to fire. It is
very comfortable in my hand, and recoil is relatively soft and
straight back. There is very little muzzle flip firing this
pistol. Reliability was almost one hundred percent. I had one
failure-to-feed with the Buffalo Bore Lead Free ammo, but most
of it fed perfectly as well. Every other type of ammo ran
perfectly. Accuracy was average. A couple of loads grouped
really well from the bench at twenty-five yards, but some of the
lighter-weight bullet loads would group only around three inches
at ten yards, so, as with any pistol, try different ammo brands
and types, to see what shoots well in your pistol. Velocities
were impressive from the barrel of this pistol, and again, the
weapon is very easy to control while firing.

I really like the Diamondback DBFS Nine. It
is a quality, reliable, American-made pistol at an economy
price.